Do you have trouble waking up? Do you always feel groggy in the morning no matter what you do? Will you ever be a “morning person”? Waking up in the morning is partly mental, but mostly physical. By putting yourself in the right frame of mind, practicing some easy tricks, and resetting your body’s internal clock, you should be able to spring out of bed in the morning.

Prepare mentally. Put yourself in the right frame of mind the night before. Make a note of good things that will happen to you the next day – things to look forward to. If you have an alarm clock or a bedside table, get a sticky note and write down something good or exciting that will happen after you wake up.[1]XResearch source

Visualize your day. If you imagine yourself alert and energetic, you will fire up the same parts of your brain you use when you actually are alert and energetic

Ease yourself out of bed. Design your bed and bedroom so that getting up in the morning comes more easily. How? There are a few things that you can do, including color schemes, temperature, and décor.

Some people think that colors can have an effect on how restful our sleep is. For example, yellow and soft blues seem to promote relaxation, while reds and purples are stimulating.[2]XResearch source Find colors that suit you and use them in your bedroom, on throws, blankets, or pillows.

Make your bedroom cooler. Your body will have trouble staying asleep if the surrounding temperature is too cold. The ideal room temperature for sleep is between 65 and 70 degrees F, so lower your thermostat below that range.[3]XResearch source

Increase the sunlight in your room in the morning. Natural light makes you feel more awake, and signals your biological clock to stop making melatonin, which makes you sleepy. If waking up is a problem for you, keep the window shades and curtains open to allow in the morning sun.

If you wake up before the sun comes out, and you can't have sunlight, you can buy a dawn simulator and set it so that it hits maximum brightness when your alarm goes off.

Take a refreshing shower. What could be inviting first thing in the morning than a shower? A good hot shower will open your eyes, give you time to collect your thoughts, and get you fresh and ready for the day.

If you are bold, try to take a cold shower. Some people find cold water very invigorating. Once finished with your cleaning, make the water as cold as you can for about thirty seconds. Then, return it to normal. The alternation of cold and hot water opens capillaries and will increase blood flow in your body.[4]XResearch source

You might also consider using an invigorating herbal body wash, some of which are designed to help you wake up. Find one that you like.[5]XResearch source

Give yourself a quick massage, too, while showering. This will boost your circulation and wake you up even more. Rub your temples, massage your shoulders, and drum your fingertips on your face.

Exercise first thing. One great way to wake up in the morning is to raise your heart rate and breathing. Not only will exercise wake you up, but it will give you energy and a mental boost for several hours. The natural light and fresh air will help, as well[6]XResearch source

Pick an exercise that you enjoy and that will motivate you to get out of bed. Try biking, running, swimming, or even just walking.

Eat breakfast. During the night, our glucose levels drop, which affects how we perform mentally and physically. Breakfast is critical to raise glucose levels and get you the energy to start your day. Make sure that you eat fairly soon after you wake up, ideally within one hour and no later than 10am.[7]XResearch source

Choose foods that are nutritious and will boost your energy levels. For instance, eggs, yogurt, some nuts like almonds, and chicken have chemicals called dopamine and norepinephrine. These stimulate your brain and body.

Drinking water can help, too. When you wake up, you’re most likely a bit dehydrated, and even a 2% drop in water stores can make you more tired. Drinking cold water will trigger your heart rate and increase blood flow to the brain.[8]XResearch source

Brew some coffee. A little bit of caffeine won’t hurt – seriously, most studies show that caffeine from coffee and tea is perfectly healthy in moderate doses. Have a cup or two. Just don’t overdo it, as more than that might make you jittery and anxious.[9]XTrustworthy SourceMayo ClinicEducational website from one of the world's leading hospitalsGo to source

Plain coffee and tea (i.e. without milk and sugar) are low in calories and also contain beneficial antioxidants. You can also look to sodas and energy drinks for a quick pick-me-up, but these contain a lot more additives, particularly sugars, which might cause your energy to crash later on.

Create a sleep schedule. The best thing that you can do in the long run to make waking up in the morning easier is to retrain your body, especially by sticking to a regular sleep schedule. Set a routine. Get to bed on time and be strict about getting up in the morning at the same hour.[10]XResearch source

To feel refreshed you’ll need to get enough deep sleep. Try to get between 8 to 10 hours of sleep nightly.[11]XTrustworthy SourceMayo ClinicEducational website from one of the world's leading hospitalsGo to source

Don’t stay up late in the evening. Aim to be in bed by 10 pm or 11 pm and to get up at the same time each and every day. After a week or two, and if you stick to it, your body will adjust to waking up earlier.

Try easing yourself slowly into the new schedule by setting your alarm clock two minutes earlier per day. By the end of the week, you’ll be up almost a quarter hour sooner.

Relax progressively in the evening. Just like having a sleep routine, it’s important to establish a pre-sleep routine so that your body can anticipate bedtime. This routine will slowly power you down and prepare you for rest. Start it one or two hours before your normal bedtime.

For instance, slowly darken your room. Just as natural light wakens you, dim light signals your body to shut down for sleep. Turn off one light at a time or use the dimmer switch until your body is ready. [12]XResearch source

Read a book. Taking out a good book can be relaxing and also taxing enough to tire you out. It doesn’t need to be a potboiler, just anything that is easy to read. Your eyelids will soon get heavy.[13]XResearch source

When you sleep, sleep in darkness. Exposure to light stops your body from releasing chemicals that you need to sleep well, especially melatonin, while at the same time signaling you to wake up. Turn out all the lights for the best quality sleep.[14]XResearch source

Power down your devices. Remove or turn off any electronics in the bedroom, like your phone, iPad, computer, or television. Seeing these distracts the brain, keeping it alert and awake, and will damage the quality of your sleep and make you more tired in the morning.[15]XTrustworthy SourcePubMed CentralJournal archive from the U.S. National Institutes of HealthGo to source

Electronics usually have back-lit screens, which suppress the body’s production of melatonin, which we need to sleep. Resist the urge to use such devices in the one or two hours before your bed. It may keep you from sleeping.[16]XResearch source

Stay away from certain foods and beverages. You can easily undermine your rest by eating or drinking the wrong thing before bed, and end up tired and haggard the next morning. Stay away from heavy meals in the one or two hours before your bedtime, for example, as they can affect your sleep quality.[17]XResearch source

Also avoid alcohol and caffeine. Caffeine stays in your system for anywhere up to 8 hours, so restrict your use of it to the morning or early afternoon. Likewise, alcohol before bed can keep you from getting the most restful, restorative kinds of sleep.[18]XResearch source

Instead, try a beverage with sleep-inducing or soporific qualities, like camomile tea. You might also try other varieties of herbal tea, like peppermint, ginger, or valerian tea.

Don't press that button! Whatever you do, avoid pressing your snooze button. Sinking back into sleep can feel delightful, but it’s actually working against you. You won’t get any restorative sleep and, in the long run, it will push you off schedule and make you feel groggy. You will have an easier time getting up if you hold out.

The snooze button essentially tricks your body into thinking that it is still time to sleep. This is called “sleep inertia,” as it deceives your body. It will make you groggy and confused and disrupt your normal sleep routine.[19]XResearch source

Instead, if you have a hard time resisting the snooze button, try placing your clock strategically across the room so you have to walk to it, waking you up along the way.

Stay on schedule. Once you have reset your body to a new sleep routine, you should try to stick to it. By resisting temptations, going to bed and waking up on time, and practicing self-discipline, you should be to wake up more easily in the morning.

Naps can help refresh you during the day, but don’t sleep too long and try not to nap within a few hours of your bedtime. The first will make you groggy, while the second can disrupt your sleep.

Don’t sleep in too often or too long. You can get away with an extra hour or two on the weekends and holidays, but going much beyond that will push you off schedule.[20]XResearch source

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Community Q&A

Your body has a natural timer, so you need to set it right. Go to bed at the same time every night, and wake up at the same time every morning, even on weekends and vacations. This will get your body to naturally get tired at the same time each night, and wake up roughly around the same time every morning.

Set alarms for every 10 or 20 minutes, as this will allow you time to wake up before you start to learn. Make sure you're in the right mindset for studying. Take a few seconds just to breathe and relax.

Try putting your alarm clock farther away from your bed, like on your desk or bookshelf, so you don't automatically just turn it off and fall asleep. Also, when you wake up and your alarm rings, don't stay lying or sitting in bed, stand up right away. Standing will get more oxygen into you, which will wake up your brain quickly.

During winter, we get a problem of sleeping and waking up late, so how can we wake up early in the morning?

Community Answer

Using an alarm should work. If it doesn't, you could try a sleep app which aims to wake you up when you are in light sleep, therefore making it easier to wake up - you set an alarm and it will wake you sometime within the half hour before that. Additionally, many people do not get enough vitamin D in the winter (which is obtained mainly from the sun), so it is advisable to take a vitamin D supplement each morning (make sure you take it with some kind of oil/fat or a food that contains it, like eggs, because it is a fat-soluble vitamin). This can help with regulating your sleep schedule, as well as with mood, immunity, and other things.

If you have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning, try placing your alarm clock across the room so you have to walk to it to turn it off, which will wake you up along the way. Then, since you're up, try taking a refreshing shower. While you shower, try giving yourself a quick massage and alternating hot and cold water to get your blood circulating. Be sure to drink some water and eat a nutritious breakfast with energy-boosting foods like eggs, yogurt, or almonds. If you have time, get your heart rate up with a brisk walk or jog. Not only will exercise wake you up, but it will give you energy and a mental boost for several hours. For more tips from our co-author, like how to stick to a healthy sleep routine, keep reading!